Just a Party Game
by Vrinda81
Summary: What starts out as a night Halloween fun turns into something deadly, with a dire prediction from a fortune teller for Steve McGarrett. Before the night is over, a murder takes place. Can Five-O solve this case before there are more victims? A response to a writing challenge.
1. Chapter 1

**I**

A green-skinned witch, her nose covered in warts, laughed wickedly as she gabbed with a cape-clad vampire, while a girl dressed as a Renaissance maiden dipped the ladle of spoon into the punch bowl and poured some into a cup. A circus clown in a rainbow polka-dotted outfit and coned hat allowed a grizzly bear to squeeze his big, red nose, and a hobo danced with a fairy. The music started out as soft sambas and tropical guitars, then veered towards fifties and sixties Halloween-themed pop and rock. As Bobby "Boris" Pickett sang about the Monster Mash, a herringbone tweed-caped Sherlock Holmes and a gray wool-bedecked Watson, black bag and stethoscope in hand, stood off to the side, acting as spectators to festivities in which they were apprehensive to partake.

Holmes was none other than Steve McGarrett, the chief of Hawaii's illustrious Five-0 state police organization, and Watson was Steve's real-life sidekick, Danny Williams, known affectionately as Danno. Though they liked a good social outing once in a while, they felt strange wearing costumes and pretending to be someone else, because it reminded them of their undercover work.

The ambiance was interrupted by the sound of their hostess, Melinda Grayle. "Steve, Danny!" she called out. "Do I have to take you two by the hand and show you how to have a good time?"

"What makes you think we aren't?" Steve asked, casually as he flecked some loose thread from the collar of his cape.

Melinda fumed. "You are impossible, Steve!" Melinda threw her hands up. In her blonde sausage curls, green satin dress and matching parasol, Melinda resembled a Southern Belle. Her husband, the formidable Sen. Erwin Grayle, invited the Five-0 team out of formality, since the governor and everyone else in Hawaii's government and business world was there.

"So wonderful of you to come," Grayle told the two cops. Danno wasn't sure if he should say anything, knowing how his boss felt about the senator. It was obvious that the senator's greetings were phony.

"Thank you for having us," Steve said, managing a forced smile. The look came across as somewhat malevolent, and Senator Grayle was not fooled. "I see you chose the right costume for the occasion," referring to the senator's Red Death ensemble from the film _Masque of the Red Death,_ complete with pitchfork. Grayle walked away in a huff, with his wife trailing after, trying to placate him.

"That was slick," Danno told his boss. "I didn't think you'd do it."

"Wearing that costume, he had it coming," Steve said, smiling while his blue Irish eyes shined. Sen. Grayle left the room while his wife returned to her guests. She went to the center and called out to everyone to get their attention.

"Everyone! Come around. Madam Lahaila is going to tell fortunes," she said.

"Shall we, boss?" asked Steve and Danno's burly associate, Kono Kalakaua, who was dressed as a Viking.

"I hope she doesn't tell me I'm going to get married and have ten kids," said Chin Ho Kelly, the fourth member of the Five-0 squad. He was already married with eight kids.

Despite being dressed as Sherlock Holmes, it was not Steve McGarrett who smoked a pipe but rather his Chinese-Irish sergeant, who looked pretty silly doing so in an alligator costume.

Madam Lahaila was a slender, bronze-skinned woman, with straight jet-black hair and almond-shaped hazel eyes. Her stare was just as striking as the rest of her appearance. She walked swiftly into the room, with all the finesse of a cat, sat in the center in front of a table where two large red candles were lit, and placed a transparent globe in front of them. The whole room was silent, and Lahaila looked around suspiciously, eyeing all the party guests as though they were going to pounce on her like hungry wildcats.

"Death is in this room tonight," she warned, as the flames on the candles started to flicker, as though the wind was passing by. The soft breeze from two open lanai doors explained that. Lahaila looked up. Her eyes locked with Steve's. "You!" she pointed at the Five-0 chief. Steve looked back at her, confused. He pointed to himself.

"Yes, you, Pretty One," Lahaila replied. "Be careful. Death will strike tonight. It will pull you in, and you must walk carefully." She pulled out a card from a deck of tarot cards in her hand and placed it on the table. Everyone stared at the image of a skeleton on horseback, carrying a scythe and grinning menacingly. Steve stifled a gasp while Danno gripped his boss, arm, fearful that something might happen to him at any moment.

Steve managed to regain his senses and challenged Lahaila. "Miss, this is not funny. If you're threatening me, you will be in serious trouble."

Lahaila's eyes opened wide in terror at the accusation. "I never use the spirits in jest, sir. I am serious."

"It's just a party game, McGarrett," Grayle interjected. "Lighten up."

Before Steve could snap a damaging retort back at the senator, a crack echoed through the room like the burst of a firecracker. Everyone hit the ground, while Steve and the rest of the Five-0 men went into action. Women screamed, Grayle yelled for everyone to hide and not move from their spots, and Steve ran toward the lanai in the direction of the sound. The back yard was deserted, except for the security guards combing the area.

"No sign of anyone else," one of them told Steve.

"Keep looking," he ordered.

"Steve!" the feminine voice called from the house. Steve turned to see another member of his team, Jayna Berringer, running towards him. The heavy blue velvet skirt of her Elizabethan gown was useless in impeding her speed. She ran up to him in record time, out of breath, her black hair falling over her face.

"What happened, Jayna?" Steve asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Danny found the bullet," she replied. "You'd better come and see."

"They went back inside the house, were the party guests were still gathered. Grayle and his wife stood over the costumed form of the Renaissance maiden who lay on the ground. The blue silk of her dress was spattered with crimson blood. Steve's eyes lit up in fear. The Renaissance maiden was Claire Treadway, the wife of Senator Arthur Treadway.

"Claire …" he said in a whisper, as though he had never seen the girl before. Jayna clutched his arm.

"Oh, God!" Melinda Grayle sobbed. Her husband consoled her.

Madam Lahaila's prophecy had already come true: Death had struck around Steve McGarrett.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

What had once been the scene of merriment and zest was now a crime scene. Doc Bergman examined the body, while Che Fong from the forensics lab gathered up whatever physical evidence he could. The scene was making Danno wretch. No matter how many crime scenes he saw, he still could not fathom the brutality and senselessness of murder – especially now.

Senator Arthur Treadway, who was unable to attend that party because of a meeting with some civic groups. His alibi checked out, according to HPD. That was one suspect to scratch off, Danno thought but, knowing how Steve thinks, he decided not to make that scratch mark yet.

The mortuary attendants covered the body and carried it away, just as Sen. Arthur Treadway entered.

"What in blazes is going on here?" he roared. "Where's Claire!?" He stopped when he saw the stretcher with its white-sheet-covered contents.

Everyone stood where they were. They were afraid to make a move, lest Treadway come after one of them. Jayna Berringer was questioning of the guests, and Treadway saw her and pounced.

"You!" he yelled. "You hated her. You wanted her dead!" He lunged at Jayna, but the detective was quick on her feet and jumped out of the way. Treadway was not to be deterred, though. He was made a quick detour and swung his fist, pummeling it into Jayna's face, just in time for Steve and three HPD men to join the fray. They managed to pull Treadway off Jayna but she was already stunned by the blow, clutching the side of her head in pain. Steve rushed to her, trying to comfort her, taking off his jacket and placing it under her head.

"What's wrong with him!" she screamed.

"Jayna, calm down!" Steve cried just when a medic came over. Steve turned his fierce blue glare towards Treadway. "You're under arrest! Book him, Danno."

Danno wasted no time in getting his handcuffs on Treadway, but the Senator continued to hurl threats.

"You're going to pay for this, McGarrett!" he screeched as Danno and an HPD officer hauled him away. "You'll pay!"


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

John Manicote, Oahu County's beleaguered DA, frowned as he paced from one side of the room to the other. Steve managed to remain calm, but he knew his friend was at his breaking point. He kept quiet for the moment, the only sounds in the office coming from a ticking clock on the wall and some birds chirping outside.

"This just doesn't make sense, Steve," he said. "First Senator Grayle is angry that you came to his party …"

"Though his wife invited me," Steve interjected.

"That was confirmed by her, yes, but he was still angry that you chose to come," Manicote went on.

"How about Sen. Treadway assaulting one of my officers," Steve sneered, "or is that perfectly legal?'

Manicote shot an exasperated look at Steve. "I'm not trying to excuse Treadway's behavior, but the fact remains that something is going on here which goes beyond a so-called curse brought on by some crooked psychic."

"We checked Madam Lahaila's background, and the strange part is that she's legit," Steve said. "She was a consultant to many business and government officials, with uncanny results. She told Mrs. Grayle that Gov. Jameson was going to win the election before he had even announced that he was a running for his party's nomination."

"I'll give her that," Manicote said, "but she could not have been right all the time."

"Unless she had help –someone to assure her that her readings would come true," Steve said.

"I'm all ears, Steve," Manicote urged.

"Grayle was angry because Five-0 uncovered the bribes and kickbacks some members of staff were getting from the construction companies. He had nothing to do with it, but it was still humiliating for him nonetheless," Steve explained. "In the process of that investigation, we also found out that Claire Treadway was having an affair with one of those contractors, so it was even more mortifying for Sen. Treadway."

"So both of them had axes to grind against Five-0," Manicote surmised.

"Definitely," Steve replied, "but there's more. The contractor in question was none other than James Keesling, who's got his hand in every organized crime cookie jar on this rock and the other six islands. Madam Lahaila used to work in one of Keesling's night spots on the Big Island."

"So it all falls right into place," Manicote said, "but it doesn't explain why Treadway assaulted Jayna."

"That's something she'll have to tell us," Steve said. "She should be out of the hospital by now."


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

Jayna Berringer had recovered somewhat from her bruised jaw. The doctor had given her painkillers and some injections and told her to take it easy. Knowing her, that was impossible. She had changed out of the blue velvet Elizabethan gown and into a light green sheath. She even took the time to place a silver rose pin on her left shoulder. Despite her soft appearance, beneath the elegance laid one of toughest façades Steve ever knew. Jayna was not going to let someone attack her and get away with it.

"The wheels are turning in your head, Jayna," the top cop told his young assistant. "What's going on?"

"That bullet was meant for me," Jayna stated. Steve stared back at her, stunned.

"Meant for you?" he asked.

"Look at my dress." She pointed to the blue velvet Elizabethan gown. "Claire Treadway was wearing a similar dress, made of silk but in same shade of blue. It was different in style, being from the Renaissance, but a hit man might not know the difference. He would have been told to shoot a woman in a blue dress and that was that."

"Then that explains Treadway's outburst," Steve replied, "if he was involved in the hit."

"Could it be that he blamed me for the world knowing about his wife's affair with Keesling?" Jayna straightened the rose pin. "I was only the one who found out about it and even then, I didn't tell the reporters anything."

Steve got up and straightened the carved figurines on Jayna's mantel piece. "The truth doesn't matter to a man like Treadway. There has to be more to it than revenge. What else did you find out when you uncovered the affair?"

"That Claire Treadway had a bank account under a false name in the amount of ten thousand dollars," Jayna said. "The money was a bribe from Keesling to Grayle. I was in the middle of building a case against them. The affair was already public knowledge."

She got up and went to a cabinet. She pulled out a box and took it to the coffee table. She pulled out some notebooks and files.

"What are you looking for?" Steve asked.

"Claire's statement when we questioned her." Jayna found the paper and skimmed it for the information she needed. "Here it is." She handed the statement to Steve. "Claire was done with Keesling and was going to go back to her husband."

Steve read the statement. Claire talked all about her relationship with Keesling, which she had broken off six months earlier, she explained. She and her husband reconciled and were patching things up. _Was Treadway still angry about the affair and not about to let it go?_ Steve wondered. There was some more information they needed, which would help everything become clearer.


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

Sen. Treadway was bailed out by his lawyer and sitting comfortably in his living room when Steve and Danno spoke to him. The senator offered no apology for hitting Jayna, which Steve expected and made Danno seethe with rage. Treadway sipped a bourdon and ranted on about how Jayna broke up his marriage.

"How did Jayna break up anything?" Steve asked. "You and your wife reconciled, and Jayna was only doing her job of upholding the law and investigating James Keesling. It's not her fault your wife had an affair with him, or that she took ten thousand dollars from him."

Treadway took a large sip of bourbon and eyed the two detectives with contempt. No amount of reason could sink into him. "She could have kept it private …"

"She did!" Danno snapped. "Jayna used the utmost discretion. The reporters found out on their own."

"Of course you'll defend her!" Treadway yelled. Steve began to feel the exasperation Manicote felt that morning. On the table, a bowl of candy sat as a reminder that today was Halloween, and what terror may lay in store for them today.

"Did your wife decide to wear that blue Renaissance costume all along?" Steve asked.

"Yes. She got it at a costume shop last week," Treadway answered. Jayna also got hers at a costume shop, but she bought it a few years ago.

"Did you know about the money that your wife had in the bank?"

"Not until my wife was investigated."

"How did you find out about the shooting?" Danno asked. "You came only minutes after it occurred."

"Melinda Grayle called the hotel where I was having that meeting with the Chamber of Commerce." Treadway put down his empty glass.

"And you went right to Jayna when you got there." Danno did not hide his scorn. "You wanted her dead. What happened? Your hit man couldn't tell the difference between the Renaissance and the Elizabethan age, so he shot the wrong woman? Maybe you have given him a history lesson."

Treadway turned the darkest shade of pink they had ever seen. He clenched his fists and his eyes glared angrily. He looked like a human volcano at the point of eruption.

"Feel free to let it out, Treadway," Steve said, casually. "That's what you normally do."

"I DID NOT HIRE ANYONE TO SHOOT JAYNA OR CLAIRE!" Treadway roared. "You're wasting your time here! We are done!"

Steve and Danno rose. "Don't bother to see us out, Senator. We know the way." Steve spoke mockingly. They left Treadway to stew in his anger as they made their way outside.

"Boy, we really made him mad," Danno said. "What did that prove?"

"That he might be telling the truth," Steve said. "Such a reaction can't be forced. If he was involved, he could do his best to remain calm under pressure."

"Human behavior is unpredictable," Danno countered.

"That's what leads me to the next part of our investigation," Steve said as he opened the door the black Mercury and got inside. "I think we're going to pay a visit to the Grayles. Have Chin check on Keesling and tell Kono to find out what he can on all the hit men who entered the islands recently and local ones as well." He put the key in the ignition.

"Got it." Danno picked up the radio receiver and began to call in as they pulled away.


End file.
